Atonement by Mari

Atonement by Mari - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

All students should read the book "Atonement" by Ian McEwan before they graduate. “Atonement” is the story of a young girl named Briony who, with a false allegation, accidentally sends the wrong man to jail. But upon realizing her mistake, she never goes back upon her word, even knowing that the true criminal is free while an innocent man is imprisoned.

This work is like a multi-faceted mirror in that it allows the reader to reflect upon different parts of themselves. One of the main themes of the book is that of forgiveness. McEwan asks the reader to consider the following questions throughout the book: What crimes can be, or should be, forgiven? Is receiving forgiveness from oneself more powerful than receiving forgiveness from someone else? Must we always confess to our mistakes?

This last question is one that I personally found riveting. While I seesawed back and forth with my own answers to this question throughout the novel, I felt strongly about one answer by the time I finished reading it. I believe that it is always important to speak up about our mistakes. Most likely, the punishment we experience in the moment of confession will be far less painful than the guilt we would live with our entire lives living with an unconfessed sin.

Through this book, I discovered that self-forgiveness can be incredibly powerful. As the perpetrator, receiving forgiveness from the victim is a crucial part in moving on from a mistake. However, we cannot move on unless we forgive ourselves as well. We must understand that everyone messes up sometimes. It’s simply part of human nature. Instead of beating ourselves up over the mistakes we make, we must view them as tools. We must learn from our mistakes so that we do not make the same ones again.

While “Atonement” is an emotional and passionate novel, it also allows the reader to consider questions within themselves. This reflective quality of the book is what has made it so personally impactful for me. I would recommend this book to any high schooler in hopes that it allows them to find answers about themselves to questions they had never even considered.